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These Grain-Free Pistachio Italian Wedding Cookies have a beautiful, light green hue, crackle on the edges, and tenderness in the middle. They just melt in your mouth!
If you are not familiar, Italian Wedding Cookies are a classic, melt-in-your-mouth treat often served with coffee or tea as a sweet ending to a meal. For my Grain-Free Pistachio Italian Wedding Cookies, I blend pistachios in a blender or food processor to make a “flour” which serves as the base for the cookies. They’re the perfect sweet treat for your morning coffee or at the end of the meal. They are dainty in size and a little delicate, making them perfect for a spring gathering!
One important recipe note for you — make sure your butter is at room temperature before you start the process! It’s critical for creaming the butter and sugar, which gives the cookies their texture. I call for granulated sugar here to help the cookies stay light green, but you can also use coconut sugar. They will come out much darker in hue and won’t be as green!
Ingredients:
- Shelled Pistachios
- Almond Flour
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- Arrowroot Starch
- Kosher Salt
- Powdered Sugar
Step-by-Step:
Step One: Prep Your baking sheets
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Step Two: Make Pistachio-Almond Flour
In a high-speed blender or food processor, add the pistachios and the almond flour. Pulse on medium-low in 30-second increments, scraping the sides down between each interval until the pistachios have turned into a flour. Over pulse and it will be too pastey! Set aside.
Step Three: Cream the Butter and Sugar
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer, add the butter and granulated sugar. Beat on medium to cream the butter and sugar, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture is very pale yellow and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix on low until combined.
Step Four: Make the Dough
Add the pistachio-almond flour mixture, arrowroot, and salt. Mix on low until just combined and a dough has formed. The dough will be very soft and tender.
Step Five: Roll and Coat the Dough
In a shallow bowl, add the powdered sugar. Set aside. Using your hands, roll the dough into ½ tablespoon-sized balls and place them on one of the prepared baking sheets. You should have about 28 balls. Working one at a time, roll the dough balls in powdered sugar until they are totally coated. Shake off the excess and transfer back to the baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough balls are coated.
Step Six: Freeze the Dough
Transfer the sheet to the freezer and chill for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F.
Step Seven: Bake the Dough
After chilling, bake the cookies in batches. Transfer about half of the dough balls to the other prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each. Bake on the middle rack for 13 to 15 minutes, until the tops are crackly and slightly golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you bake the rest of the cookies.
Recipe FAQ:
Yes! It’s critical for creaming the butter and sugar, which gives the cookies their texture
Store at room temperature in an airtight container. The cookies will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
I call for granulated sugar here to help the cookies stay light green, but you can also use coconut sugar! They will come out much darker in hue and won’t be as green.
I hope y’all love these cookies as much as I do! Comment below once you try them!
craving More Cookie Recipes? try these!
Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Candy Bar Thumbprint Cookies
Grain-Free Pistachio Italian Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup shelled pistachios
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (sub coconut sugar if preferred; see note)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Make Pistachio-Almond Flour:
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, add the pistachios and the almond flour. Pulse on medium-low in 30-second increments, scraping the sides down between each interval until the pistachios have turned into a flour. Over pulse and it will be too pastey! Set aside.
Cream the Butter and Sugar:
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer, add the butter and granulated sugar. Beat on medium to cream the butter and sugar, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture is very pale yellow and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix on low until combined.
Make the Dough:
- Add the pistachio-almond flour mixture, arrowroot, and salt. Mix on low until just combined and a dough has formed. The dough will be very soft and tender.
Roll then Coat the Dough:
- In a shallow bowl, add the powdered sugar. Set aside.
- Using your hands, roll the dough into 1/2-tablespoon-sized balls and place them on one of the the prepared baking sheets. You should have about 28 balls.
- Working one at a time, roll the dough balls in powdered sugar until they are totally coated. Shake off the excess and transfer back to the baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough balls are coated.
Freeze the Dough:
- Transfer the sheet to the freezer and chill for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the Dough:
- After chilling, bake the cookies in batches. Transfer about half of the dough balls to the other prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each. Transfer to the oven and bake on the middle rack for 13 to 15 minutes, until the tops are crackly and slightly golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you bake the rest of the cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made these twice now and i keep getting a cookie that falls apart! It’s super grainy and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong 😭😭
Sorry to hear this!
Are you able to freeze these and bake at a later time?
These cookies freeze beautifully. Shape the dough, freeze the cookies until firm, then store in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready, bake straight from the freezer and add a minute or two to the bake time. Finish with powdered sugar while warm!
Hi Alex! Could you share the icing recipe?
I use the same recipe as the one in this recipe!
https://thedefineddish.com/iced-oatmeal-cookie-bars/
Delicious! Easy to make with a good food processor. Not too sweet, sort of a European vibe. Interestingly, two random cookies from each batch when wonky and flat, so they were for the chef. Everyone loved these.
Top notch! So good. Really easy to make.
Glad you loved them, Shannon!
Great !!! Loved it but mine were little flat. Will freezing it longer make them little taller?
I have a bag of pistachio flour in my freezer that I have been looking for a reason to use. Do you think I could I use this in place of the whole pistachios (and would I measure out the 3/4 cup)?
Do you use salted or unsalted pistachios? Roasted? Thank you!
unsalted is best- if you use salted, make sure to just not add salt into the cookies!
Hi Alex, do you have a recipe for the icing you drizzled on top in the video?